The price of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States has increased drastically over the past several months, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently paying over $80 per dose for the two vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna.
On September 15, the CDC published an updated list of different vaccine prices which shows the health agency paying $81.61 per dose for the Moderna COVID vaccine and $85.10 per dose for the vaccine developed by Pfizer.
In the summer of 2020, the CDC purchased the Pfizer vaccine at $19.50 per dose and the Moderna vaccine at $15.25 per dose, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). The CDC purchased 100 million of each vaccine at that time. These prices then increased in the summer of 2022, when the CDC purchased 66 million doses of the Moderna vaccine at $26.36 per dose and 105 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine at $30.48 per dose.
Newsweek reached out to the CDC via email for comment.
In July, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter to Moderna and Pfizer saying "Updated COVID-19 vaccines entering the market this fall should be priced at a reasonable rate, reflective of the value that you have obtained through U.S. government investment. Price gouging behavior takes advantage of the trust the American people have placed in you through the COVID-19 response.
"In the coming weeks and months, we anticipate that you will work with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and other payors to ensure that they have the required information to make payments for the updated vaccines this fall."
The letter from Becerra came in response to Moderna and Pfizer both suggesting that they were planning to raise the prices of their vaccines again. The Wall Street Journal reported in January that Moderna was considering raising its prices for its COVID-19 vaccine to a range of $110 to $130 per dose.
In an investors call last October, officials from Pfizer also indicated a similar price increase for their COVID-19 vaccines.
The Biden administration previously said that it was planning to end the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 on May 11, which meant that federal funds would no longer be used to purchase the vaccines, leaving the purchases to the commercial market.
Over the past few months, U.S. health officials have urged residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as concern over a spike in new cases continued and a new variant emerged. During a press conference this week, CDC Director Mandy K. Cohen said, "For the first time, we have immunizations available to help protect against the 3 major respiratory viruses—COVID-19, flu, and RSV."
"I strongly encourage you and your family to get the immunizations that are right for you. We must use all available tools to protect those most at risk, including infants and young children, pregnant people, older adults, and those with chronic health conditions," Cohen said.
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